Sights and Sounds of Shangrila: Heaven on Earth

Amidst a landscape of towering mountains, deep gorges, crashing waterfalls and quiet lakes, Skardu attracts tourists from various parts of the world.

Located in heart of Gilgit-Baltistan, Skardu is an ideal place for summer expeditions, hiking, trekking, and exploring archeological history of the region and above all to treat oneself with placidity after the monotonous life full of urbanized hassle.

During the summer, it attracts a large number of trekkers and mountaineers from all parts of the world. In fact, the entire region is known as a mountaineers’ paradise.

Shangrila Lake is one of the many tourist destinations that added to the fame and beauty of Skardu is a simple lake located at a twenty minutes drive from the city.

The lake has been hosting visitors from time to time, but it was after the formation of Shangrila resorts that the place got mass attention. Today, just like Shangrila Lake Shangrila resort is also counted in a worth visiting of tourist destination of the country.

Shangrila resort that is located adjacent to Shangrila Lake was formed three decades back by a retired army official Brigadier Aslam Khan.  Brigadier Aslam Khan himself was a Northern Scouts’ commander who visited the place quite often and was so mesmerized by the beauty of the lake that probably one of the first things that he did after his retirement was laying the foundation of Shangrila Resorts.

The literal meaning of the word is heaven on earth and indeed perfectly suits the feel of modern age’s Shangrila.

The design of the resort is similar to many Buddhist temples. Shangrila is surrounded by elevated mountains whose reflection can be clearly seen in the lake that flows below the resort. Shangrila resort can be well credited as a factor that brought the scenic beauty of Shangrila in front of the masses. This place today is not about green meadows, unruffled lake and composure only.

The picturesque region is blessed with fresh fruits, especially apples that flood almost every tree. The wildlife of the region includes some of the most innocent and colorful species like peacocks.

The beautiful lake is also a symbol of hospitality and warmth. During the winter season when life generally becomes very tough for the locales, but even in those hard-hitting months people from Shangrila welcome tourist wholeheartedly. It is not the aloofness of the peaks that captivates tourists mind, but the affection of hosts that leave an everlasting impact on visitors’ heart.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jan 9 2013. Filed under Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.